As the show wrapped up with a Trump presidency seeming almost certain, Colbert took a moment to call for national unity.

"So how did our politics get so poisonous? I think it’s because we overdosed, especially this year. We drank too much of the poison.

"We take a little bit of it so you can hate the other side. And it tastes kind of good, and you like how it feels, and there’s a gentle high to the condemnation. And you know you’re right, right? You know you’re right," he said.

Colbert wrapped up the evening on a lighter note, listing a bunch of things all Americans can agree on: replying all on mass emails is the worst, Kit Kats should be eaten in segments ("not bitten into like a normal candy bar, you animal"), veggie pizza is pointless, and Alex Trebek will never die.

"In the face of something that might strike you as horrible, I think laughter is the best medicine," he said.

"You cannot laugh and be afraid at the same time, and the devil cannot stand mockery."

Julia Reinstein is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.